Ancient Greece was a hotbed of decadence. No surprise that the Greeks have come full circle 3000 years later.
“Ancient Greece was a hotbed of decadence.”
“Decadence” indicates decay or decline. That’s inaccurate because homosexuality and pederasty were normative in ancient Greece during its political and cultural peak. These behaviors were hardly aberrational for the Greeks. Philosophical and political mentions of both are rife, and in mythology there’s the story of Zeus and his cupbearer Ganymede.
While the fighting prowess of the Spartans is legendary, the story of their ultimate defeat by Thebes is much less well-known. Thebes was famous for its Sacred Band of paired lovers which beat the Spartans and made Thebes the preeminent Hellenic power until the Macedonian conquest.